Back in Stuart

Sailfish Fountain in down town Stuart.

We have anchored in Lantana 3 times now and never touched land. Next time we happen to stop here we have to cross the bridge and visit South Palm Beach. But we are moving on so anchor up at 6:45AM,  through the Lantana Bridge at the 7AM opening and had only 12 bridges to do.  It was not as easy as the 15 yesterday since a few were a half hour apart within a mile so there were 3-4 bridges we had a long wait for.  Since there is not an easy anchorage for our 5.5' depth along the way we decided to go back to Stuart, along the St Lucie River.  We reserved 2 nights at Sunset Bay Marina, the one we wanted to get into for last Nov.-Dec but it was full.  Around 2PM we came to the St Lucie Inlet and turned west toward Stuart.  The winds were blowing out of the east 30k so we were so happy to be on the ICW.  We actually "bumped" bottom turning into the river entrance!! We watched the depth meter go from about 3-5' to suddenly 5 inches. Peter felt the bump at the helm. Thank goodness we moved into deeper water right after that or we would have been grounded in 30k winds!  Our river trip to the marina was uneventful after that and we tied up at the dock by 3:15-3:30.

Office, store and club house at Sunset Bay Marina.

This is such a nice facility and Stuart is a beautiful town. We can see why it is so popular.  We are only 1 of 2 sailboats on this dock. Everything else is 30'+ motor yachts, and yachts for sale.  We have 2 large motor yachts on each side of us and one in front of us. They tend to block any wind so it was rather hot in the boat overnight.  After two long days of  motoring through 29-30 lift bridges we decided to treat ourselves to dinner. There is a beautiful restaurant here called "Sailor's Return."  It is more upscale than the typical marina restaurant and we had to call for a reservation.  Dinner was delicious and hot. It is not too many places where they deliver the plates too hot to touch! We had appetizers, salad, lobster entree, and creme brulee for dessert!
Today we did laundry early and walked into town for a bagel. We were planning to leave Pretzel for the afternoon and walk around the town.  Peter put his wet suit on and went under the boat to check out our rudder. He wanted to make sure there was no damage after getting the palm trunk caught in it 2 days ago. It was not fun because the water is not the cleanest and clarity was a little difficult. Everything seemed to be fine. As Peter was showering and getting dressed, Jane got the electric cord ready to hookup and noticed a really black, nasty sky in the southeast. Peter plugged the electric cord in as it started to blow and sprinkle.  Within 3 minutes we had one of the worst storms we can remember on the boat. It was pouring and the winds were blowing 40-45K. That is gale force.  We were really listing over (away from the dock thank goodness) so Peter decided to add extra lines from the boat to the dock. In the meantime the rain felt like ice and the wind was freezing! We both ended up soaked through.  This storm lasted about a half hour.  This is one time we are so happy to have had the motor yachts blocking the full broadside force of the wind. We can't imagine trying to hold our anchor in 45K winds!! Someone up above seems to be guiding our decisions.  So we are on the boat now for the day since the rain continues and the temperatures are dropping into the 40's overnight and will probably stay here tomorrow so we can visit the town.